Ovarian cancer journey confirmed nursing student's calling

At age 31, Miriam Gutierrez finally felt like she had found her purpose. She had gone back to school to become a nurse after several jobs in human resources and dental care left her feeling unfulfilled.

But that all came to a sudden halt in the summer of 2022 following her first semester of nursing school.

Warning signs of ovarian cancer

Early in 2022, Gutierrez began having several symptoms.

She had to urinate every 30 minutes. She lost weight without trying. She had persistent bloating and discomfort in her stomach.

At first, she thought the symptoms came from stress or a urinary tract infection.

“I wasn’t in any kind of severe pain,” she said. “I didn’t think it was anything to worry about.”

But during a road trip that summer, she felt a hard lump in her pelvis. Her best friend, a nurse, felt it too. She urged Gutierrez to get checked right away.

Integrated care makes a difference

Gutierrez, a Kaiser Permanente member from Rialto, California, visited urgent care at the Kaiser Permanente Fontana Medical Center on July 18, 2022.

“I went to urgent care with those symptoms, and the doctor I saw really took his time and listened to my concerns,” recalled Gutierrez. “He didn’t just let me go home with an antacid ── he did a full workup on me.”

Because of Kaiser Permanente’s integrated care model, she received a CT scan, ultrasound, and blood tests all in the same day.

“I spent 13 hours in urgent care, which is a long time, but the doctor moved me through the steps quickly, and I am so grateful for him because that visit was the start of me getting well again,” she said.

Ovarian cancer diagnosis confirmed

One week later, Gutierrez had exploratory surgery for doctors to examine the masses found in her scans. The surgery ruled out the possibility of ovarian cysts — a best-case scenario. They took a biopsy, which showed Stage 3B ovarian cancer. The cancer had spread to other organs in her abdomen.

“The hardest part for me was realizing that I was now on the other side of medicine, being the patient rather than being the one healing and helping,” said Gutierrez.

She had to pause nursing school and make treatment her full-time focus.

“But once I changed my mindset, it was like go, go, go from there,” she said. “I was going to do everything in my power to get better. Nothing could stop me.”

Life-saving surgeries and chemotherapy

Gutierrez was referred to Mallory Zhang, MD, a gynecologic oncologist. Four weeks after Gutierrez’s urgent care visit, Dr. Zhang performed a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. This is a surgery to remove the uterus, cervix, ovaries, and fallopian tubes.

Gutierrez also had surgery to remove cancerous tissue from her diaphragm, bowels, and colon. She then had a bowel resection to reconnect her colon and rectum.

Three weeks after her 8-hour surgery, Gutierrez began 6 months of chemotherapy. This was the hardest part of her journey.

Following her treatment sessions, she experienced nausea and intense itching on her hands and feet. She often felt overwhelmed and frustrated.

To stay positive, Gutierrez planned fun activities between chemotherapy sessions. She traveled around the United States and took up horseback riding, drawing, singing, and learning French.

“That got me through the really hard times,” she said. “There were definitely some dark days, but there were a lot more good days than bad ones.”

Using her experience to help others

When chemotherapy ended, Gutierrez was declared cancer-free. She continued follow-up visits every 3 months with no signs of cancer returning.

Gutierrez graduated from nursing school in December 2024. She hopes to one day return to Kaiser Permanente as a nurse and work with the same care team that helped her.

She also wants to encourage women to trust their instincts, speak up about symptoms, ask questions, and advocate for their own health.

“If you have an issue for more than 3 or 4 weeks, don’t overlook it — get it checked out,” she said. “Hopefully that will lead to an early diagnosis rather than it going untreated until it’s too late.”